Emilia Romagna Itinerary Help

You write four nights in Bologna which gives you three days there and you plan on two days in Bologna plus a day each in Ferrara and Ravenna. Your plan is good but you need to allot one more day there.
Bologna is wonderful but the area is not as scenic or Tuscany nor Umbria.

I’m not a big fan of Bologna, personally, but I love the Emilia Romagna area! I really wanted to see the Castello di Torrechiara last time I was there with a bike tour - maybe next time! I’ll attach my recent trip report for ideas for restaurants, lodging, sites, etc. My favorite church interior in Italy is Parma’s Cathedral. Hopefully there won’t be a tour group there when you’re inside it - wonderful atmosphere!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-please-do-not-comment-until-i-change-the-title-filling-in-the-report-thanks

This one was my September trip when I was in Ferrara & day trip to see Ravenna again:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/mother-adult-daughter-italy-trip-aug-sept-2022

Modena has the Ferrari Museum, balsamic tour and tasting, and Da Danilo our favorite restaurant in Italy.

Parma has the famous restaurant La Forchetta, signature dish the “Duchessa di Parma .” Then in the little gelateria behind the Duomo, the nuns fashion cones in the shape of a rose.

Since you mentioned that you prefer the smaller towns, and you also mentioned you’re very efficient with your time (so I’m also assuming organized), I’m a big proponent of staying in the smaller towns overnight vs. a lot of day trips. It eliminates the train ride back in the evening, and the towns are so charming in the evening. As long as you take less total time to pack up/check out/check in at the next hotel, and compare that to the total time to wait and ride the train back at night, it’s good to consider it. Obviously, that option isn’t great if you aren’t efficient with suitcase management, etc. and you want to have some places where you stay longer.

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Oops...miscalculated my nights in Bologna. Any thoughts on if San Marino and Rimini are worth the detour? Also, is there any way that we could spend more nights in Parma vs Bologna - ie do some of the day trips from parma?

We were a bit underwhelmed with Bergamo. It may have been in part because we arrived on a Sunday and the road up to Citta Alta was closed due to an accident, putting a huge load on the funicular service.

Citta Alta was very popular with tourists and I would expect that being designated a Capital of Culture for 2023 will only make it more so. As you would expect, it's more appealing in the early morning and in the evening. That said, one of my all time favorite photos was taken here just while out getting lost on a walk.

If you decide to go, you'll want to exit the train station, turn right and head to the bus stop. You'll want bus 1A.

The three UNESCO cities aren't declared so for no reason: Ferrara, Parma and Modena all three worth a full day for visits. Reggio Emilia and Piacenza are nice, but a little less interesting.
I don't understand the period of the year for your vacation: for Rimini area could make a great difference. Rimini has a huge beach area and in Summer is very crowded. On the other side Rimini has a nice historical center with some important monuments to be visited (Tempio Malatestiano, Domus del Chirurgo...). Worth to skip one of the three UNESCO's for Rimini? No, in my opinion.
San Marino is a different matter. Has been hugely restored at the end of XIX century, so seems a little "fake" when you are there. Somebody love that place (I am one of that, even if is very crowded by touristic shops), other hate it.

If you like castles and architectures Emilia-Romagna is plenty of different periods, style and architecture. Vignola, Torrechiara, Bardi, Fontanellato, Castell'Arquato, Vigoleno, San Leo, Dozza, Carpi... Try to look on internet about them: every one has something different and unique.

One point to remember. Emilia-Romagna is 65% flatland. Absolutely flat. If you move by train 99% of time you stay in the Padan plane, so a completely different landscape than Tuscany.
If you rent a car you can even discover the remnant 35%: hillside and mountains. There are several very scenic routes to be done, hamlet and villages to be discovered. And usually no tourists: but you need time and will to drive and discover.

About Bergamo and other cities of Lombardy: why don't plan another trip in Eastern Lombardy? Mantua, Cremona, Brescia, Bergamo, Pavia and so on could be another 10 days trip to Italy.

I can't add to others' recommendations for how long to stay where, but I'd like to recommend a book for you since you're interested in food of the region: Pasta, Pane, Vino by Matt Goulding. I'm listening to it but decided to get the paper copy of the book because I want to take notes about all the places he describes. I'm in the middle of the Emilia Romagna chapter now and his quest for the perfect ragu is fantastic! Just beware, reading this on an empty stomach can be dangerous!

I'm a big fan of Ravenna. While a day trip from Bologna will allow you to squeeze in visits to the top 6 or 7 mosaic sites (many with UNESCO designation)--including Sant'Apollinare in Classe, there's more to see in Ravenna, and I'd think the city would be worth more time than that for folks interested in architecture and churches.